HSBC Dubai employee stole AED24.5m from customer, court told

An HSBC employee has gone on trial accused of being part of gang that stole AED24.5m from three accounts belonging to an Iranian businessman, 7Days reported.

It is claimed the HSBC staffer – a thirty year old Lebanese woman – worked with 12 other men to forge official bank documents and signatures.

The paper said the crimes took place between October 2012 and March 2013, with the employee then withdrawing the stolen cash.

According to 7Days, the businessman had deposited AED36.5m into the bank following a string of property deals. He then asked the Lebanese woman working for the bank to run his accounts because he couldn’t speak English.

According to police, the accused made 12 orders for transferring money into their own accounts.

Seven of the 12 suspects are still at large.

Update (01/09/2014): A HSBC spokesperson issued the following statement to Arabian Business: "We can confirm two former members of staff are
under fraud investigation by the Dubai authorities. We cannot provide any details
as the matter is before the Dubai Courts. In the meantime, the customer's
losses have been fully compensated."